I didn’t know that until I began living and working here full time. That’s when I realized a Syracuse summer is synonymous with sunshine — yes, sunshine — as well as music, food, wine, beer, arts, crafts, dancing and culture.

What I discovered during my first summer here in 2002 was that as the temperature rises, so does the number of festivals and fairs.

Until then, Syracuse seemed synonymous with snow, sports and SU.

After I began living here, I found that when I went out of town and people asked where I lived, the reaction was a mix of empathy and confusion. Often, it was grounded in an apology that sounded something like this: “I’m sorry! You must get so much snow in the winter. What do you do for fun there? Outside of sports and SU, I bet nothing much goes on, but snow.”

Rarely does that person consider that they may have offended me. Nor do they seem to understand that their view implies that I am subject to social and cultural isolation as a result of living in a city with winter.

To the contrary, Syracuse’s festivals and fairs build cultural bridges that invite all people to learn more about each other and themselves.

Our city is host to these celebrations year-round. However, summer weather provides an opportunity to witness the creative and cultural diversity with greater frequency and on a larger scale.

I submit that most cities our size do not immerse themselves in celebrating their citizens the way we do.

Syracuse has an appreciation for the unique aspects and interests of its citizenry. The result are celebrations embracing the cultural (Juneteenth), culinary (Taste of Syracuse) and creative (AmeriCU Credit Union Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival). These expressions of our city establish spaces for us to discover the ties that bind, the familiar elements we all share despite the differences we all have.

I love going to festivals and fairs because I learn about the mosaic of cultures and communities that call Central New York home.

That beautiful mosaic of language, faith, culture and ability continues the tradition of openness and access that made this city an abolitionist stronghold.

Syracuse’s tradition of openness was formally instituted in October 1850 just one month after the establishment of the Fugitive Slave Act. That’s when Jermaine Loguen, an author, African Episcopal Methodist Church bishop, abolitionist, and formerly enslaved African, persuaded city residents to declare his adopted hometown an “Open City.”

Syracuse became a city open to all. Despite that tradition and Loguen’s work, not everyone was embraced.

Even today, the identifiers that make us unique are viewed as markers of difference and are used to fortify barriers that continue to keep us divided.

That’s why festivals and fairs are so important. They bring us together to uncover our commonalities as well as share a common experience. Festivals reconnect us with memories from our own lives when they are awakened by the smells, sounds and tastes of what appears unfamiliar. That moment leaves us open to engage in new experiences because we are strengthened by our own.

You have the chance to strengthen your own experiences this weekend. I encourage you to participate in the final days of ArtsWeek. There’s something for everyone, even those of you who may not consider yourselves into art.

Frank OrdonezKheli R. Willetts

Please make it a point to also respond to the invitation from Syracuse Stories, if you haven’t done so already, and learn more about our community through storytelling presented by ProLiteracy or by sharing your own story during Clear Channel’s Story Slam.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Life is a festival only to the wise.” Syracuse is the living embodiment of Emerson’s idea because we celebrate life through festival, and I consider that very wise indeed.

Kheli R. Willetts, executive director of the Community Folk Art Center, is a faculty member in the department of African American studies at Syracuse University and an occasional columnist with The Post-Standard. Contact her at kheli_willetts@yahoo.com.